New Google Nexus 7 (2013) vs Amazon Kindle Fire HD: Spec comparison

The second-generation Google Nexus 7 is a definite improvement over its predecessor. It’s slimmer, lighter, and boasts a higher quality screen with a sharper resolution. It may be a no-brainer to upgrade from the old to the new Nexus 7, but how does the new Google tablet compare to some of its existing 7in rivals? In this article, we’re going to compare the Nexus 7 (2013) to the nearly year-old Amazon Kindle Fire HD.

First, there are some basic design differences to note: The Nexus 7 is 7mm longer, but shaves off 23mm in the width department compared to the Kindle Fire HD. Google’s newest tablet is also noticeably lighter than Amazon’s tablet – 100 grams lighter, in fact, and it’s almost 2mm thinner.

Getting into the nitty-gritty details, there are other stark differences between the two tablets’ capabilities. One of the most obvious is their screen resolutions. The Nexus 7 sports an impressive 1,920 x 1,200-pixel resolution, while the Kindle Fire HD has a 1,280 x 800 display – and that’s enough to make text considerably less crisp.

The Kindle Fire HD’s front-facing camera sensor is 1.3 megapixels, and Amazon’s tablet doesn’t have a rear camera. On the other hand, the Nexus 7 features a 1.2-megapixel front-facing camera and a 5-megapixel rear shooter.

Other differences include CPU speed, operating systems, and cellular capability. The Nexus 7 has a quad-core 1.5GHz processor, while the Kindle Fire HD’s is just a dual-core 1.2GHz CPU.

The latter tablet runs Amazon’s custom operating system over a base layer of Android 4.0, whereas the Nexus 7 has the latest version of Jelly Bean, Android 4.3. The new Nexus 7 also has a cellular-capable (4G LTE) option which the Fire HD doesn’t offer.

So, despite their obvious similarity in size, there are only a few commonalities between the two tablets: The 7in display, Bluetooth, and 2.4GHz and 5GHz Wi-Fi compatibility. They also have similar battery lives; the Kindle Fire HD managed seven hours, while the Nexus 7 lasted 37 minutes longer on the same battery rundown test.

The main area in which the Fire HD has an advantage is, of course, price, with the Amazon slate costing £40 less for the base version, and £60 less for the 32GB model. You pays your money, and takes your choice, as they say – although you can’t buy the new Nexus 7 just yet in the UK. It’s expected to become available in September (although some sources are saying it will be later this month). At any rate, it’s probably worth waiting for…